Iran, N Korea missile cooperation mere speculation: Defense min.

North Korea's Unha-3 rocket stands at Sohae Satellite Station in Tongchang-ri, North Korea, on April 8, 2012.

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Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has dismissed as mere “speculation” recent claims about the Islamic Republic’s missile cooperation with North Korea.
“Recent claims made by certain countries about missile cooperation between Iran and North Korea are merely speculations,” Vahidi said on Monday.
The Iranian defense minister stated that Tehran has so far dispatched nobody to Pyongyang for missile cooperation.
Vahidi’s comments came after Japan's Kyodo News Agency quoted a Western diplomatic source as saying earlier this month that Iran had dispatched defense staff to North Korea in late October, apparently to boost missile and nuclear cooperation between the two countries.
On December 12, North Korea launched a rocket which it said put a weather satellite into orbit.
Japanese media also said a team from Iran's defense ministry was present at the time of the missile launch, a claim Iran has denied.
The US and its allies insist the North Korea's missile launches are disguised tests of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which is capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. Pyongyang has dismissed the claims.
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